TECHNICAL PANEL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Tuesday, September 12, 2000, 9:00 a.m.
Varner Hall, Board Room
38th and Holdrege, Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mike Beach, NETC; Brenda Decker, Department of Administrative Services; Christy Horn, UNL-Compliance Officer; Steve Schafer, CIO-State of Nebraska, Michael Winkle, NITC; and Walter Weir, University of Nebraska.

OTHERS PRESENT:
Bruce Dienes, IBM; Rick Golden, University of Nebraska; Mirta Hansen, Future Kids; Dick Palazollo, Public Service Commission; Carna Pfeil, Coordinating Commission for Post Secondary Education; Dave Wagaman, Fiscal Office; and Rick Becker, Lori Lopez Urdiales, and Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/NITC.

ROLL CALL AND MEETING NOTICE

The Chair, Mr. Weir, called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Roll call was taken. All members were present. Mr. Weir stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC and Public Calendar web site on September 5, 2000 and that a revised agenda was posted on September 8, 2000.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

One correction was made to the minutes. Mike Beach was present at the last meeting but not listed in "Members Present".

Ms. Decker moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Mr. Schafer seconded. Roll call vote: Beach-Yes, Decker-Yes, Horn-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Weir-Yes, and Winkle-Yes. Motion was carried.

FUTURE DIRECTION OF NEBRASKA TELECOMMUNICATIONS DISCUSSION - DENNIS LINSTER, CIO, WAYNE STATE COLLEGE

Mr. Linster brought several issues for discussion with the Technical Panel:

• The need for leadership in the state for a unified effort and vision for information technology and telecommunications.
• The need for adequate connectivity and equity in distance education, especially for out-state Nebraska communities and institutions. Currently, analogue systems make connectivity difficult and costly.
• The use of bandwidth and the need for more down links across the state for full motion video capabilities.
• The need of educational institution's for an immediate remedy and solutions to the connectivity issues. TINA study is a step in the right direction but it will take three years for implementation.

Mr. Linster's recommendation was to not fund any more analogue projects, as well as, not to appropriate further funding for Net3 due to bandwidth issues.

After discussion and feedback from the panel members, the following three actions were determined for follow-up:

• Network Architecture Work Group - refocus efforts on developing standards.
• TINA Study - Explore the opportunity for including current systems integration as part of the TINA directives.
• NITC - Mr. Winkle will address how to approach the fee base charge back issue with Lieutenant Governor Maurstad, Chair of the NITC.

Ms. Decker left at 10:05 a.m.

Mr. Rolfes provided the group with information regarding the Southeast Learning Consortium's federally funded project to upgrade to a 100-megabit system. The Consortium will be addressing the Education Council at the September 15th meeting with their plans for the project. Mr. Winkle recommended that this project come before the Technical Panel for review and recommendations. Mr. Weir recommended that the Education Council submit written recommendations to the Technical Panel regarding educational resources and needs.

The panel thanked Mr. Linster for his input and discussion.

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND WORK GROUP UPDATES

Wireless project - Decker

No report. Ms. Decker had to leave the meeting.

Network Architecture Work Group (TINA) - Decker

No report. Ms. Decker had to leave the meeting.

Mr. Weir commented that he had a meeting with representatives from The City of Linoln about technology and telecommunications. As a result of the meeting, the City of Lincoln wants to create a technology committee. Persons at the meeting were not aware of the TINA project. Very few municipalities have submitted inventories or their needs to the Division of Communications for the TINA Study. Mr. Winkle reported that the NITC is involved with the League of Municipalities annual meeting to be held the first week of October. There will be pre-conference sessions on information technology and telecommunications. The Lieutenant Governor will give the keynote address on the first day of the conference. After the keynote address, there will be a panel discussion on state’s efforts in telecommunications.

Security Architecture Work Group Draft Policies (PDF) - Schafer

Mr. Schafer reported that the work group has met several times. The work group has developed draft security policies. Mr. Schafer would like the panel to review the draft with intent that it merits further consideration. The next step would be to have at least a 30-day period to solicit public input. NITC Commissioner Merill Bryan, Union Pacific, is having the draft document reviewed by his staff. It is projected that the document would be ready for the NITC to adopt at the December meeting.

Mr. Winkle moved to approve the draft policies for further consideration and to have the work group continue to work on recommendations for implementation of the policies. Mr. Beach seconded the motion. Mr. Beach offered a friendly amendment that the recommendations for implementation be submitted to the Technical Panel for review prior to the NITC meeting. The amendment was agreed to. Roll call vote on the amended motion: Winkle-Yes, Weir-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Horn-Yes, and Beach-Yes. Motion was carried.

Assistive Technology Work Group and Assistive technology clause for state contracts - Horn

The following persons will serve as members of the work group: Christy Horn, ADA/504 Compliance Officer, University of Nebraska; Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer, Office of the Nebraska, Information Technology Commission; Mark Schultz, Director, Nebraska Assistive Technology Partnership; Pearl VanZandt, Director, Rehabilitation Services for the Visually Impaired; and Tanya Wendel, Executive Director, Nebraska Commission for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing.

Ms. Horn will schedule a meeting within the next couple of weeks. Copies of the Final Report from the "Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee" of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board were distributed to the member. Ms. Horn will use their recommendations as a starting point for the work group.

E-Government Architecture Work Group - Schafer

Mr. Schafer reported that the work group has met several times, including telephone conference call meetings with the Gartner Group and P.K. Agarwal. The next meeting of the work group will focus on the development of a work plan and timelines on how to progress. Past agendas and minutes are on the NITC web site.

[Others to be formed: Application Architecture; Collaboration and Workflow Architecture (e-mail, imaging, workflow); Data and Information Architecture; Hardware Platform Architecture; Systems Management Architecture]

PROJECT REVIEWERS (PDF) FOR FY2001-03 BIENNIAL BUDGET PROCESS

Mr. Becker distributed the timelines for the biennial budget process and the list of reviewers from state government. Mr. Rolfes has list of reviewers from the educational sector. On September 18th staff will assign projects to reviewers. This list will be sent to the Technical Panel members. At that time, the Technical Panel members can communicate disapproval and/or concerns regarding assignments.

OTHER BUSINESS

Mr. Becker distributed graphs on data collected thus far from agency I.T. plans.

NEXT MEETING DATE

The next meeting of the Technical Panel will be held at 9:00 a.m., October 10, 2000, Regent's Board Room, Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.

ADJOURN

Mr. Weir adjourned the meeting at 11:25 a.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Steve Schafer and Rick Becker, Office of the CIO/NITC.

Meeting Minutes